Panga Cliff

Panga is where the Silurian dolomite that underlies the whole island shows itself. The cliff runs about two and a half kilometres along the north coast and reaches roughly twenty-one metres - modest in absolute terms, and the highest thing of its kind on Saaremaa by a clear margin.

What you actually see

A pale, sharply banded rock face dropping straight to a narrow stony shore, with the sea beyond and juniper heath running right up to the edge. The layering in the rock is clean and horizontal, which makes the cliff read like a cut section rather than a natural slope.

The site was a sacrificial place in pre-Christian times - offerings were made here to the sea - and it still has that character on a grey day, with nothing between the edge and the water.

When to go

• Late summer evenings - the light comes along the cliff face rather than onto it, which is when it looks best.
• Autumn storms - the sea breaking at the foot of the cliff is the reason locals come.
• Winter - ice on the shore and the rock, and completely empty.

Honest expectations

There is no railing along most of the top and the edge is undercut in places. People have gone over it. Keep back from the lip, especially in wind or with children.

The visit is short. Pair it with the north-coast drive rather than making a special trip.

Nearby

The Angla windmills are twenty minutes south. Kuressaare and the castle are about forty minutes down the island.